Highly-Touted Baltimore Orioles Prospect Hits Walk-Off Grand Slam

Now back with Triple-A Norfolk, Heston Kjerstad has resumed his assault on baseballs with the Tides.

May 1, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles sent star prospect outfielder Heston Kjerstad back to the minors recently to get some more at-bats. He’s clearly taking advantage.

He hit a walk-off grand slam for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, giving the Tides the victory and continuing the young star’s domination of minor-league pitching.

The grand slam was his only hit in six at-bats on Sunday, but it was his second home run with the Tides since returning from the Majors.

He hit another in his re-debut with the Tides on Wednesday, which was part of a doubleheader. In fact, he hit the home run on the first pitch he faced.

HESTON KJERSTAD WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM@NorfolkTides | @Orioles | @OsPlayerDev pic.twitter.com/TvUsEo8PG3

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 19, 2024

Kjerstad, a 25-year-old from Amarillo, Texas who is one of baseball’s top overall prospects, has been knocking the cover off the ball in the minors all season. After Sunday’s game he’s slashing .318/.395/.701/1.096 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI.

Before his call-up to the Orioles, he was named the International League Player of the Week after he batted .444 with nine runs, three doubles, six home runs, 21 RBI and five walks. He slashed .531/1.222/1.753 in that span.

During that week he set a Norfolk Tides record for most RBI in a game when he drove in 10 runs in a 27-11 win over Charlotte. For the game, Kjerstad went 5-for-7 with two home runs, two doubles, four runs and 10 RBI.

Baltimore called him up on April 23 after an injury to Austin Hays landed the veteran on the 10-day injured list. The Orioles returned him to Norfolk earlier this week as part of a flurry of moves, including Hays’ activation.

He didn’t get many at-bats with Baltimore, just 14 in seven games as he slashed .143/.294/.143/.437. In 13 games with the Orioles last season he slashed .233/.281/.467/.748 with two home runs and three RBI.